Uncontainable Legacies: Theses on Intellectual, Cultural, and Political Inheritance

Gerhard Richter

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2021

Uncontainable Legacies

Theses on Intellectual, Cultural, and Political Inheritance

Gerhard Richter

In the series Incitements

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474487825

Overview
Contents

About this book

How do our ceaseless conversations with what has passed and with those who have passed something on to us propel us into a precarious future?

Examines one of the central human concerns – the problem of what it means to inherit an intellectual, cultural, and political legacy – in a new light
Argues that to inherit always means to interpret something that resists full transparency
Draws on a wide range of figures in philosophy, literature, political thought and the arts from the German, English, French and American traditions
Offers an engaging and highly topical intervention in the stakes and possible futures of the humanities today

In a series of evocatively titled theses, including ‘Wrinkles’, ‘Inheriting a Feeling’, ‘Weight of the World’ and ‘Making Treasures Speak’, Gerhard Richter engages the quintessentially human dilemma of how to receive an intellectual, cultural or political inheritance.

In dialogue with philosophers including Heraclitus, Arendt and Derrida; writers such as Montaigne, Hölderlin, Kafka and Knausgaard; artists such as Michelangelo, Picasso, Anselm Kiefer and Art Spiegelman; filmmakers such as Jean-Marie Straub; scholars and scientists Freud and Einstein; and pop-cultural phenomena the rock band The Who and the Broadway play The Inheritance, Richter contemplates the problem of interpreting an inheritance that resists full transparency.

Richter argues that inheriting is not the same as yearning for a former presence or nostalgically striving to preserve an identity. At once philosophical and poetic, his aphoristic theses illuminate how the constantly shifting nature of our relationship to what we inherit from others makes us who we are.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
1 The One Who Inherits, Interprets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2 Thetic Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	2
3 Ideal Reader Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
4 No Conservatism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	5
5 Triple Temporalities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	6
6 Generations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
7 The Difficulty of Using Freely What Is One’s Own Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	8
8 Elusive Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	10
9 Inheriting a Feeling Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
10 Who Is the Human Being? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
11 Homo Hereditans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	14
12 Ruptured Temporalities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	16
13 Language Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
14 Other Languages, Languages of the Other Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
15 We Are What We Inherit Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
16 Saying Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	20
17 Always Already Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
18 Ghostly Traces Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	22
19 Undecidability Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
20 Question Marks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
21 Endings, Beginnings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
22 Ends of Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	26
23 Life and Death Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
24 Leave-Taking Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
25 Orphaned Remains Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	30
26 Masterless Legacy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
27 Unwanted Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	34
28 The Original Unwanted Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
29 Unwanted Inheritance, Redux Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
30 Refusals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
31 Hegelian Labors of Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	42
32 Unreadabilities of Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
33 Wrinkles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
34 Singularities of Misinheriting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
35 Suspended Differentiations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
36 The Past Is Not Past Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	50
37 Reinvention I Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
38 Reinvention II Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	52
39 Paleonomies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
40 Imposition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
41 Being Born Posthumously Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
42 Grave Cares Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
43 Un héritier Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
44 Inheriting Myths Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
45 Backward and Forward Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
46 Relating to an Inheritance Without Imitating Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
47 Deniers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	70
48 Something Is Taking Its Course Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
49 Coming After Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
50 Inheriting Learning Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
51 Institutions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
52 Nonexplicative Bequeathing Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
53 Explanations Come to an End Somewhere Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	80
54 Time after Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
55 Inheriting Binaries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	82
56 Refusals Redux Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
57 Recognizing the Self Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
58 Mitwelt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
59 Refusals of Fashion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	88
60 Refusals, One More Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
61 Keeping Watch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	90
62 Palliatives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
63 Little Greeks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	92
64 Inheriting Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	94
65 Anxieties of Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
66 Living On Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
67 There May Be No Heir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	97
68 Chiseling Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
69 Arresting Motion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
70 Elective Affinities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
71 Letting Sentences Run Risks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	102
72 The Strength That No Certainty Can Match Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	104
73 Fatherless Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	106
74 Speaking With the Dead Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	108
75 Two Sides of the Coin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	111
76 The Past Conditional Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	112
77 Humic Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	114
78 Selections Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
79 Who Inherits? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
80 Dwarfs on the Shoulders of Giants Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	120
81 Translation I Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	122
82 Translation II Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
83 Haunting Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
84 To Read What Was Never Written Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
85 Inheriting a Future Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
86 Archival Traces Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	131
87 Invisibilities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
88 Refunctionalizing I Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
89 Refunctionalizing II Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
90 Forgetting One’s Language, Making History Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	136
91 Inheriting a Contested Provenance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
92 Reading Inheriting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	140
93 Understanding Tropes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
94 Je suis, I am — Do You Follow? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	142
95 Parusia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
96 Possibilities of Prosopopoeia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
97 What’s the Difference, Kafka? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	146
98 Inheritance Would Be a Good Idea Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	148
99 Quotation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
100 Today Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
101 Teacups Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
102 Debts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
103 No Debts? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	154
104 Parental Riddles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
105 Mothers of the Heir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
106 Children of the Heir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
107 Fathers (Worrisome Bequeathing) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	160
108 Inherited Jouissance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	162
109 Self-Inheritance of Time I Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	164
110 Self-Inheritance of Time II Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
111 Applied Self-Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
112 Self-Inheritance Tripped Up Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	169
113 Perverse Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	170
114 Unreasonable Reason Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
115 Faulty Origins Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
116 Heirs of the Ages Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	174
117 Inheriting the Sound of Silence I Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
118 Inheriting the Sound of Silence II Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	176
119 Fibers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
120 Inheriting a Question Mark Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
121 Not for Cowards Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	184
122 Weight of the World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	185
123 Making Treasures Speak Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	186
124 Loss Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
125 Generalized Capitalism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
126 Nostalgia for the Future Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
127 Rich Inner Life Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
128 Doxa Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	194
129 Side-Taking Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
130 Detours and Forest Paths Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
131 Stone Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	198
132 Not Done Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
133 Proof Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	200
134 Creating Concepts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	201
135 Those Days Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
136 Untimeliness Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
137 Heir to Come Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	206
138 Different Heir-Selves Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
139 Possible Failures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
140 Partial Inheritance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209
141 No Repetition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	210
142 How It Goes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
143 Not for Sale Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	212
144 Wall Street Inherits Das Kapital Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
145 The Sibling Rivalry of Inherited Space Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214
146 Inheriting the Wrong Words Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	216
147 Creative Solitudes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
148 End Times Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	219
149 Inheriting Extinction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	220
Reference Matter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	221

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 240
Keywords: Philosophy

eBook

Published: April 21, 2022
ISBN: 9781474487825